Western Athletic Conference Elite: Prospects Standing Out

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We are reaching the midpoint of the high school football regular season here in Kansas and there has been no lack of talent in the Western Athletic Conference. Consisting of such schools like Dodge City, Garden City, Great Bend, Hays and Liberal. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The top prospect in the state hails from Great Bend in Notre Dame bound tight end [player_tooltip player_id='1229117' first='Ian' last='Premer']. The 6-foot-6, 235-pound multi-sport superstar may be the headliner but there are other future FBS prospects to keep an eye on from the 2027 class. Premer may be the top prospect in the 2026 class but the WAC has the #1 and #2 prospects in the 2027 class ([player_tooltip player_id='933826' first='Cooper' last='Ohnmacht'] and [player_tooltip player_id='944909' first='Gus' last='Corsair']). </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Great Bend has their second FBS prospect in 6-foot-1, 185-pound safety/wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id='933826' first='Cooper' last='Ohnmacht'], who already has picked up offers from Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State and Wisconsin. Ohnmacht is considered the top triple jumper in the state as well. He is the two time defending state champ in that event in 5A. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>That is not the only Panther that will be getting FBS interest in the junior class. 6-foot-2, 220-pound inside linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1124985' first='Kale' last='Kern'] had just visited Notre Dame unofficially this past weekend. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hays has their own FBS headliner in 2027 with offensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id='944909' first='Gus' last='Corsair']. The 6-foot-3, 290-pound lineman holds offers from Arkansas, Arkansas State, Auburn, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Minnesota North Carolina, Oklahoma and Toledo. Keep an eye on 6-foot-2, 270-pound defensive tackle [player_tooltip player_id='944910' first='Tanner' last='Geist'] as well for the Indians. Geist is getting definite FBS attention this season with his stellar play and has unofficially visited Iowa State, Kansas and Kansas State.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2026 WAC prospects to keep an eye on for the remainder of the season as follows:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1083225' first='Trenton' last='Kern'] (Great Bend) 6-foot-2, 225-pound inside linebacker has been the heart and soul of the Panther defense the last couple of seasons. This season he has been asked upon to play a lot more defensive tackle in certain packages. It would not surprise me that he may get some college looks as a defensive end to go with his linebacker attention. So far this season he has 41 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery. His younger brother [player_tooltip player_id='1124985' first='Kale' last='Kern'] is just as an impressive defender. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound junior has racked up 54 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery. Trenton has been receiving very heavy MIAA attention and look for the offers to start coming in soon. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1622490' first='Conner' last='Holladay'] (Great Bend) 6-foot-1, 200-pound running back/defensive end is a strong and athletic playmaker who is the Panthers primary ball carrier this season. Probably more suited for linebacker, he plays defensive end for Great Bend. On the offensive side of the ball he has 405 yards rushing on 52 carries and 5 touchdowns. On the defensive side of the ball he has racked up 17 tackles, 3 tackles for loss and 1 sack on the season. Holladay has been been picking up a lot of MIAA and Juco attention and will be stacking many more offers soon enough. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1590226' first='Holden' last='Lind'] (Hays) 5-foot-8, 170-pound running back who has rushed for 723 yards and 7 touchdowns on the season. He has lessened his load a little more this season compared to last season with the emergence of 5-foot-11, 190-pound junior Braxton Basgall. Lind rushed for 1,678 yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior. Lightning in a bottle with great speed and balance. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='283949' first='Jarek' last='Purdy'] (Hays) 6-foot-0, 165-pound wide receiver/safety is an athletic playmaker who has the been the top receiving target for 6-foot-3, 190-pound senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='904445' first='Zane' last='Viegra']. Purdy has had 18 receptions for 200 yards and 4 touchdowns so far this season. He has also registered 20 tackles, 3 passes broken up and little over 300 yards of all-purpose yards. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1401789' first='Aldo' last='Reyes'] (Dodge City) 6-foot-1, 250-pound offensive lineman/defensive lineman is an athletic lineman that can play all along the line on both sides of the ball. He has given up no sacks on the season. Defensively he has 22 tackles at this defensive tackle position. Reyes has recently started picking up college offers. He still has plenty of room to fill out his frame and is a very good athlete overall. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1115792' first='James' last='Fieser'] (Liberal) 6-foot-3, 190-pound wide receiver is a big time playmaking weapon for the Redskins. He is quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1075837' first='Tevin' last='Cotter']'s top weapon and has 30 receptions for 541 yards and 11 touchdowns so far on the season. He has started picking college offers and with plenty more to come in due time. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='780105' first='Xavier' last='Tafoya'] (Liberal) 6-foot-2, 235-pound inside linebacker/fullback is another prospect to keep your attention on. He is a jack of all-trades type of player. Defensively he has registered 22 tackles and 2 tackles for loss from his linebacker position but on the offensive side of the ball has 51 carries for 252 yards and 5 touchdowns from his fullback position. Liberal will throw him the ball as a tight end/H-Back on occasions and so far on the season he has 2 receptions for 30 yards. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1256011' first='Jhett' last='Price'] (Garden City) 6-foot-3, 230-pound inside linebacker/H-Back/tight end is the heart and soul of Garden City's football team. He may be new for the Buffaloes with him transferring in from Plainview, Oklahoma. His father Joe is the new Garden City head coach. He has put up big time numbers at the half way mark of the season. He has a staggering 63 tackles and 7 tackles for loss. On the offensive side of the ball he has had 8 receptions for 100 yards and 3 touchdowns. He just recently picked up an offer from Garden City (KS) CC but expect plenty of more offers and college attention coming his way soon.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->